Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs

Sweet meets heat, in the perfect ratio. Tender meatballs, kicked up with garlic and ginger, basking in a sweet and spicy glaze of gochujang, honey and soy. Ready in less than 30 minutes. Weeknight meal solved.

We love meatballs in my house. All kinds of meatballs - from those in marinara, to those in sweet/spicy sauces like this. In this recipe, I jazzed up the meatballs and sauce with Gochujang, one of the most widely-used Korean condiments. Gochujang is a red chile paste and it's added to side dishes, soups, stews, main dishes, marinades, and more. I would almost call it the "ketchup" of Korean food, but it's used A LOT more, with EVERYTHING. Some call it the "miso" of Korean food. Maybe that's more accurate.

Gochujang is a combination of fine Korean chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It’s spicy, but it also has a subtle sweet note, making it a great all-purpose condiment to have on hand. Look for gochujang in the Asian food section of your favorite supermarket. If you don't feel like heading to the store and you already have sriracha in the pantry, use that. Note: different brands of gochujang have varying heat levels; read labels to see if there's any kind of spice indicator.

About the minced onions: I like using dried minced onions instead of fresh chopped onions in my meatballs. Why? Because I think regular onions take up too much room (I want mostly BEEF in my meatballs, along with some seasonings). Plus, I think onions and other vegetables add too much moisture, and the meatballs tend to fall apart.

About the heat: Whether you choose gochujang or sriracha, you have the choice of using regular or hot. That call is completely up to you - how much fire do you want going on in your mouth?

Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs
I suggest serving the meatballs and sauce with rice, rice noodles or quinoa so you can soak up all the delicious sauce. 

For the meatballs:
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons gochujang or sriracha sauce
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced dried onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the sauce: 
2 cups beef broth, divided
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon gochujang, Sriracha sauce, or garlic-chile sauce, or more as desired
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Chopped green onions for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
To make the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Shape the mixture into 16 meatballs and place them on the prepared pan. Roast for 15 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through (or almost cooked through, we'll finish them in the skillet).
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, whisk together 1 3/4 cups of the broth, honey, soy sauce, gochujang, rice wine, sesame oil, and garlic powder. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes (this allows flavors to develop; we're not looking for any changes here). Whisk the cornstarch into the remaining 1/4 cup of broth. Add the mixture to the pan and return to a simmer. Simmer for 1 minute, until the mixture thickens. Add the meatballs to the skillet and simmer for 2 to 5 minutes (the longer time is if you need to finish cooking the meatballs until they're fully cooked through).
Top with green onions before serving.

Serves 4